GV?Gardeners: What can we do in the garden during January?

It would seem that we got our shot of winter early this year. In fact, temperatures dipped below freezing before the official first day of winter.

Two weeks ago, temperatures were routinely in the 20s nightly, and several times stayed below freezing for up to eight hours.

Winter can be brief in the desert, so let’s hope it has been taken care of for this year. As nights become “cool” instead of so cold, there are a number of tasks that can be done in the garden now.

If you are a vegetable grower, January is the time to set out transplants of cabbage, lettuce, and Swiss chard. To start the herb garden, sow seeds of cilantro, dill, fennel and parsley. Tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds should be planted indoors now, so in the next eight weeks they will be ready for transplanting into the garden.

January is a very important month in the life of roses! First of all, bare-root roses are now available at nurseries. Ask questions and do some homework to select those varieties that tolerate our alkaline soil and hot summers without excessive water or fertilizer. Right now, even established roses should be watered deeply every two weeks. This is also time for the first major rose pruning event of the year.

If this procedure is new to you, watch for local demonstrations, seminars or workshops this month. Plan to attend The Green Valley Gardeners seminar at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at East Center, which will feature the how-to’s of rose pruning.

The local Rose Society annually holds a January pruning workshop at the East Center Community Rose Garden. This year, it will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the center. Call Jeannie, 648-6363 for information.

These are all great ways to observe, take notes, and perhaps practice a little hands-on rose care.

Do NOT prune evergreens, cold-sensitive trees, or legumes this month. This includes mesquite, ironwood, acacias and palo verdes. Most mesquite leaves will normally fade to yellow or brown and begin falling now. The native velvet mesquite loses its leaves with cold temperatures. South American mesquites lose their leaves more gradually, often not until new leaves begin to emerge.

Do NOT fertilize trees, shrubs, or succulents in January. Continue to water annuals and perennials as needed, preferably during daylight hours. A long, slow soak now may be the most important watering a tree can get all year. Watering for several hours this month will help the tree become more vigorous and better able to withstand the long hot season. This is true for both native and non-native trees. Use a soil probe to verify that you are watering to a depth of 3 feet for trees. Always manage your watering needs based on current rainfall amounts.

Continue “taste testing” citrus fruit. If not sweet enough, leave the remaining fruit on the tree for another few weeks. Peel color is not an indicator of maturity or taste of citrus. It has been noted that many citrus have produced smaller crops this year. The harvest normally fluctuates from year to year. Last winter’s extreme January cold also had an effect on the quantity of maturing fruit. Hopefully the coming season will produce a “bumper” crop.

Garden centers still abound with cool-season color, and there is still time to plant a few containers. Set out transplants of pansy, petunia, snapdragon, sweet peas, or calendula. These plants don’t mind the cold nights, and will continue to share their colorful blooms until the hot sun of May and June takes its toll.

Continue to pay attention to the nightly weather forecasts. When frost or freezing temperatures are predicted, add protective covers to your sensitive plants. The average last frost date in this area is March 15. Although we can feel the January sun giving off more warmth, there is still reason to be alert to dangerously cold temperatures this month.

Mary Kidnocker is a Master Gardener who writes frequently on the subject from a local perspective. Her columns are featured Sundays. She is president of The Green Valley Gardeners.